The way he lingers on PSH's face half in the shadows afterward as he keeps crying out "I'm a beep idiot!" is terrific.

Sleeper: The scene in Boogie Nights where PSH tries to kiss Wahlberg. Flipping around between movies I've seen a million times, I'll always wait on that. That one's all about PSH though, sorry to get off topic.

The Swimming Scene in There Will Be Blood
The way DDL looks after he finds out he is betrayed and then goes to swim in that rough water. The stuff of nightmares.

The bar scene with "Goodbye Stranger" has really stuck with me. In the making-of documentary, it was funny to see PTA second-guessing how well that sequence would translate. The end result is pure cinematic magic.

Inherent vice - The scene with the message parlor/brothel to Bigfoot's intro.
The Master - The scene with the bike.
There Will Be Blood - The oil derrick sequence.
Punch-Drunk Love - The scene where Barry is doing that dance in the store.
Magnolia - The bar scene with "Goodbye stranger."
Boogie Nights - The Pool Party Scene
If i had $1 everytime i had no clue what was going on, id ask people why they were giving me dollars

I think he means the most powerful/jaw-dropping scenes in PTAs movies.
The director is the orchestrator of everything. In the end it is their storytelling vision. Especially true with a writer-director like PTA.

But the cinematographer is the one that films the scene. You mean wrote? Or really best cinematography work in his movies?
Feel your heart beat.

The jail scene in The Master deserves a special mention. A brilliantly well-acted and directed section of an already exceptional film; the physicality and staging of the scene perfectly encapsulates the relationship between the two lead characters.

The Baptism scene in TWBB and opening scene in
Boogie Nights
www.facebook.com/groups/ivegotyou

All scenes mentioned are just excellent. So rather than parroting I'm gonna go with, what imo is, one of the most memorable scenes in, what is still my favorite PTA movie (and possibly the best American movie of the 21st century) - There will be blood: the scene with Plainview and his "brother from another mother" at the beach.

3. The Master - The processing scene on the boat.
4. Boogie Nights - The firecracker scene.
5. There Will Be Blood - the baptism scene. This still gets me every time. Possible the most powerful scene I've experienced.

1. There Will Be Blood: Derrick explosion
2. Magnolia: T J does his 'Seduce and Destroy' presentation
3. Boogie Nights: Opening tracking shot
4. Inherent Vice: Neil Young music with Doc and Shasta in the rain
5. Punch Drunk Love: Shut, shut, shut, SHUT UP!
6. The Master: Pig Fu**
7. Hard Eight: The opening scene as it's homage to his own short film

The last 15 minutes of There Will Be Blood.

I like the Firecracker Scene in Boogie Nights the best. It combined all the best parts of his films: his humor, filmmaking presence, use of music, and great acting.
How do you like them apples?

3. Punch-Drunk Love grocery store
4. Boogie Nights firecrackers
5. The Master window to the wall

the opening to boogie nights is legendary.. I love how someone mentioned showing John how to gamble in Hard Eight cause that scene is just mindblowing in the real life sense TWBB and The Master features the greatest cinematography ever so theres that and for my wild card nomination, Bigfoot kicking in Sportello's door and so forth

This message has been deleted.

There Will Be Blood (2007)- Daniel's baptism
Volker Flenske: (While torturing David) I don't know why you're doing this to yourself!

• I L5b4OVE the scene in "Magnolia" where yes, it's raining Frogs, and at one point the camera audaciously zooms into a picture on the wall to the words "But it did happen". Love, love,
  love.
• The first fifteen minutes of There Will Be Blood. a masterclass in tone.
• Of course, the opening of Boogie Nights. unbelievable technical proficiency, blah blah, you've heard it written about by smarter men than me.
• The 'processing' scene in "The Master", absolutely.
• And now, of course, the standard dark horse pick. For this, after some consideration, I choose the scene in "Grown Ups 2" where the man working behind the counter at the ice cream stand is tricked into a compromising position by our heroes so that it looks like chocolate ice cream is in fact coming out of his bum bum. It was an extremely daring direction choice to have this run on so long, and to have three(!) plops of the fake doo doo poo.

For me, the tracking shot through the studio in Magnolia and the derrick explosion in There Will Be Blood

One of the best final shots in cinema history.

The very last scene in Magnolia; perhaps my favorite scene in any movie, ever.

The entire sequence in Boogie Nights that leads up to a murder/suicide blew me away. I think that his best direction.
I can get you a toe by 3 o'clock this afternoon. With nail polish.

Impossible for me to pick an individual scene so I'll list my favorites from his films

1. Hard Eight the flashback as John C. Reilly tells the matchbook story
2. Boogie Nights the drug deal gone awry (I saw the film for the gazillionth time in the theatre and you could tell who the people who hadn't seen it before were in the theatre based on their reactions, it still holds up marvelously)
3. Magnolia the ambulance overturning when it begins raining frogs
4. Punch-Drunk Love Barry screaming at his sister on the phone in Hawaii
5. There Will be Blood Daniel slapping around Eli in the mud
6. The Master the window to the wall scene in its entirety with the flashback to the war